Machines for securing hooked belt-fasteners



J. J. POTTER March 31, 1959 MACHINES FOR SECURING HOOKED BELT-FASTENERS Filed March 29, 1957 v 2 Sheets-Sheet l F/Gl.

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J.. J. POTTER MACHINES FOR SECURING HOOKED BELT-FASTENERS March 31, 1959 Filed Marchs?, y'1957 MACHINES FOR SECURING HOOKED BELT-FASTENERS Iolm Ll. Potter, Shetlield, England, assignor to Hayden- Nilos Limited, Sheield, England Application March 29, 1957, Serial No. 649,450 Claims priority, application Great Britain July 17, 19555 4,ClaimS. (Cl. 149.4)

This invention relates to machines for securing hooked belt fasteners of the type in which a jaw unit comprising a pair of pivoted jaws adapted to be closedv on to/a comb of open hooks mounted in a comb bar is movable progressively along the bar and transversely to the end of a driving or conveyor belt, for successive hooks or groups of hooks to be clinched in the belt end, the comb bar being a hollow member provided with a plurality of spaced parallel slots into each of which may be inserted the looped portion of each of a plurality of connecting hooks mounted together as a comb, the hooks then being locked by a securing rod inserted endwise through the hollow bar and through the registering loops of the hooks. The bar is slidably accommodated in slots in the frameof the jaw unit of the machine, ,so that it carries the hooks between the jaws, which can be closed round the bar to clinch the hooks, separately or in groups.

`In theoperation of the machine, `the end of a belt to `be tted with the hookshas the slotted face of the .comb bar pressed against it by the operator. However,

even with one operator controlling the machine and an- Other ,holding the belt, it is difficult to ensure that the end of `the belt remains close to the slotted face throughout the progressive clinching of the hooks along the length of the end. This is particularly the case when the machine is being used in a restricted space. yAny devia tion of the` belt results in poor alignment of the hook loops and makes it awkward to insert the necessary ilexfitted with hooks, and this in turn necessitates a wide frame, which makes the machine heavy and cumbersome.'

One object of the `invention is to provide simple means for keeping the belt end in correct relation to the slotted face of the comb bar, so that the hooks may be accurately ttedrover the whole length of the end. Another object is to provide means for enabling a comb bar ofvless length ,than the width of the belt to be held in correct rela- "tion to the edge of the belt as the comb bar is `moved to different positions across the width of the belt.

According to the present invention, a belt-fastening machine comb bar having a slotted face to receive and position open wire hooks to be pressed into a belt, the end of which bears against the slotted face, comprises a clamp with a clamping face projecting beyond the slotted face, and clamping means adapted to grip the belt to the clamping face so as to hold the edge of the belt to the slotted face.

With the clamping face and clamping means disposed near one end of a comb of hooks secured in the bar, the other end of the comb being in position for the iirst hook to be clinched into the belt, the tightening of the arent 2 clamping means holds one e'nd ofthe belt end against `'the slotted face. Care being taken that the otherendof'the belt end is also against the slotted 4face when the'iirst hook is clinched, the whole length is then held to th'e face, by the clinched hook at one end and the clamp at the other, and thus remains in correct position While all the hooks are progressively clinched. .V

The clamp may be rigidly and permanently carried by the comb bar, but, advantageously, itmay be adjustablly .positioned along the comb bar, for which .purpose'i't may be formed with projections to vtit the slotted combyba'r, the projections having holes for thel passage ofra :securing rod for the hooks, so that the latter secures both v'the comb of hooks in the bar and the clampingmember. The invention will now be described in greaterideftail with reference to the accompanying drawings, iii-which, Figure 1 isf a plan, partly in section, of a. jaw-unit in operative relationship with a combbar that is. clamped to a belt in process of 4receiving hook fasteners; M

Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation taken on theline 2 2 of Figure l; u A

Figure 3 shows in plan the comb bar and -beltalone 'after the belt has received all the hooks in the comb bar; Figure 4 is an enlarged section on the irregular line 4 4 of Figure 3; p u

Figure S is a fragmentary plan showing a clampingdevice and a securing rod detached from a comb bar;

Figure 6 shows a securing rod; and, p Figure 7 corresponds to Figure 3, but shows the Bomb bar and belt after the latter has received further hooks. In Figures l and. 2, a jaw unit comprises a pair of jaw levers 2 on a common pivot carried by' spaced frame plates 4, 5, which carry a pivot 6 for a pair of Vhandles 7, connected-by toggle links 8, 9 to the rear ends by the end of a common pivot pin 14 of the toggle links 9 to bring a pawl` l5 into engagement withratchet teeth '16 along the base of a comb bar 17.

The comb bar 17 is detachable from the jaw unit,` but can be slid between the jaw levers 1, Z'inside the cheeks .10, where its base 18 (Figures 2 and 4) ts notches 19 in the side plates 4, 5, so that the combwbar is` held across the ends of the casingsfll, 12. The face v2 0 (Figure 5) of the comb bar has slots 21 of the same pitch as the teeth 16, the slots 21 entering the ,hollow interior 22 (Figure 4) of the bar. Open double hooks 23 (Fig ure l) of wire are placed in thegslots 21 and secured there by inserting a securing rod 24` (Figure 6), having a handle 27, lengthwise along the hollow 22 inside the loops ,of the hooks. Figure 2 shows the rod 24 still inside the hooks, indicated as 23A, after they have been closed.`

As shown by Figures 3 and 7, the lengthv of the comb bar 17 need not be the same as the Width'of, any belt 2S to be provided with hooks;` on the contrary, the bar may be used to supply hooks to any width of belt. Thus, Figure 3 shows hooks 23A applied over a length A cor responding to the length of the bar 17, and Figure 7 shows a further length B applied, less than the length of the bar, to make up the width C of the belt 25.

When the comb bar i7, filled with open hooks 23, is applied to the end face 28 of the belt 25, with the first hook D near one edge of the belt, the last hook E is part way along the edge 28. The slotted face 20 of the comb bar 17 is pressed against the edge 28, and the bar is secured to the belt 25 by a clamping device 29. This has two limbs 30, 31 (Figure 4), the former providing a clamping face 32 and the latter carrying a screw 33 with a knurled head 34. Two projections 35 (Figure 5), spaced to enter adjacent'slots 21 in the bar 17, have holes 36 for the passage of the securing rod 26, so that the clamping device 29 may be placed at any position along the bar 17.

When the screw 33 is tightened onto the belt 25, the 4belt is pressed against the clamping face 32 and the edge 28 of the belt is held to the slotted face 20 of the bar near the hook E. The jaw unit is then applied to the comb bar 17. As soon as the irst hook D has been pressed into the belt (as in Figure 2), the bar 17 is held to the edge 28 of the belt at both positions D and E, so that all the hooks over the length A are clinched into the'belt in correct position, to produce a straight line of loops of the hooks.

The jaw unit is slid from the comb `bar 17 when the last hook E has been clinched; the comb bar is released from the belt 25 by withdrawing the securing rod 26 and releasing the screw 33; and hooks are placed in the bar over the length B (Figure 7) and the clamping device 29 is secured to the bar near the edge 37 of the belt. With the end 28 of the belt again pressed against the comb bar, the clamping device 29 holds the bar in correct position at one end of the length B. The jaw unit is again applied to the bar 17, and, after clinching of the irst hook next to the last hook E of those previously clinched, the remainder of the edge 2S is held to the bar 17, so that the loops of the hooks in the length B are in line with those in the length A. The jaw unit and the comb bar are again detached in turn from the belt.

For very wide belts, the comb bar 17, with the necessary complements of hooks 23, is applied to the belt as often as necessary to cover the whole width with hooks.

Figure 7 shows a wide slot 38 in the end of the comb bar 17 corresponding to the position of the clamping device 29 in Figure 3. This provides a ready indication for the insertion of the clamping device to the bar when the bar is to be completely filled with hooks. Figure 7 also shows how the clamping device 29 has an overhanging portion 39 (also seen in Figures 1, 3, and 5) to position le clamping screw 33 well inside the edge 37 of the The adjustable clamping device 29 may be provided with a chain 40 to enable it to be held captive, e.g. by connecting the chain to a skid 41 (Figure 2) by which the jaw unit is supported and enabled to slide transversely as it is ratcheted along the bar 17.

Where adjustment of the clamping device is not required, e.g. with a clamping bar 17 used on standard widths of belts that always require a full complement of hooks 23, a permanent clamping device 29A (Figure 1) may be screwed to the bar at 42.

If the jaw unit is advanced along the comb bar by intervals covering more than one hook, so as to clinch hooks .in groups, instead of singly, or if the cheeks 10 are wide enough to clinch simultaneously a group of hooks in a short comb bar, the clamping of the comb bar to the belt is likewise advantageous, in ensuring that the end of the belt is held in correct alignment with the comb bar` during clinching, and that each successive length of comb has its hooks clinched into the belt in alignment with the hooks previously clinched.

What I claim is:

1. A belt fastening machine comb bar having a slotted face to receive and position open wire hooks to be pressed into a belt, the end of which bears against the slotted face, with provision for insertion of a securing rod to secure hooks in the comb bar, the comb bar comprising a clamping member with projections to fit the slots and with holes in the projections to receive the securing rod, so that the clamping member may be adjustably positioned along the comb bar, the clamping member having a clamping face projecting beyond the slotted face of the comb bar and clamping means adapted to grip the belt to the clamping face so as to hold the edge of the belt to the slotted face.

2. A belt-fastening machine comb bar having a slotted face to receive and position open wire hooks to be pressed into a belt, the end of which bears against the slotted face, with provision for insertion of a securing rod to secure hooks in the comb bar, the comb bar having secured to it a clamp with projections to `lit the slots and with holes in the projections to receive the securing rod so that the clamp may be adjustably positioned along the bar, the clamp being provided on overhanging portions thereof with a clamping face and clamping means so as to grip the belt well inside the edge when the clamp projections have been secured in slots adjacent to the edge of the belt.

3. A belt-fastening machine comb bar having a front slotted face to receive a row of open wire hooks, and.l a rear toothed face to provide for transverse racking when the bar is fitted into a machine to elect progressively clinching of the hooks into a belt, upper and lower rigid supports projecting from the front of one end only of the bar, a clamping face on one support, and a clamping screw on the other support, to secure positively to the clamping face a belt located between the supports and thus to secure positively at one end of the bar the edge of the belt in abutting relation to the slotted face, while clinching of the hooks proceeds progressively towards that end of the bar.

4. A belt-fastening machine comb bar having a front slotted face to receive a row of open wire hooks, and a rear toothed face to provide for transverse racking when the bar is fitted into a machine to eect progressively clinching of the hooks into a belt, upper and lower rigid supports projecting from the front of one end only of the bar, beyond the slotted face, each having a portion overhanging the slotted face, and a clamping face and a clamping screw carried by the respectively overhanging portions, by means of which a belt located with its edge in abutting relation to the slotted face can be held positively in that abutting relation at one end of the bar while clinching of the hooks proceeds progressively towards that end of the bar.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

